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Yet Sky — cock-a-hoop at buying more games in their four packages for £600m less than last time — have presumably already put on the table what they consider one more package is worth to them and have no reason to go higher.

Demoralised BT Sport desperately need the extra games. But having already paid £1.5m more per game for their Saturday lunchtime package than in the current deal, they might feel let down by Scudamore and not raise their offer by much.

That leaves Amazon, who are only dipping their toe in the water and know the remaining packages will be broadcast over a handful of nights, which won’t give them enough presence to make a major impact.

And whatever cash Scudamore and his TV advisers can cajole from the extended auction, it will still leave the domestic rights total significantly below the £5.1bn from the present contract.

Sky have won four of the packages so far, with BT earning the rights for the other

The outcome of the Premier League TV rights auction has put the ball back in Newcastle owner Mike Ashley’s court over Amanda Staveley’s £250m offer to buy the club.

Staveley priced her bid — initially dismissed by Ashley — in the expectation of a drop in domestic TV income, which has turned out to be the case. So it remains to be seen whether Ashley now finds her offer, which has been on the table since December, more attractive.

The PL TV rights auction has put the ball back in Newcastle owner Mike Ashley's court

FIFA and the Russian organising committee are talking up their World Cup workshop in Sochi at the end of the month, laying on interview opportunities with the 32 head coaches.

However, the turn-out is expected to be disappointing, with some of the major European countries regarding the event as more of an administrative exercise for back-up staff.

England boss Gareth Southgate is sending his assistant Steve Holland, along with media and logistics personnel.

Gareth Southgate is sending his assistant Steve Holland to a World Cup workshop in Sochi

There is disquiet at world cricket’s rulers the ICC over the ECB being shortlisted for Campaign of the Year at the Sport Industry Awards for their work around the 2017 women’s World Cup.

The ICC consider they did the hard yards in selling the tournament — right through to the sell-out Lord’s final, won in dramatic fashion by England — with only peripheral help from the ECB.

National power chaos

Grand National sponsors Randox Health seem to have a curse on their race weights reveal, always a showcase event for the sport.

A power cut at BAFTA’s Piccadilly headquarters on Tuesday afternoon caused havoc, with the theatrical announcement by Ed Chamberlin of the weight each horse will carry at Aintree having to be abandoned.

This followed poor acoustics at the Victoria & Albert Museum last year turning Randox Health’s first attempt at the event into another shambles.

A spokesman for the Jockey Club said Aintree management had taken the lead in organising the weights event.

Ed Chamberlin could not announce the race weights for the Grand National due to a power cut

UK Sport, who flatly refuse to fund any sport in the summer Olympics that does not offer medal potential, seem to have put those hardline principles to one side for the Winter Games.

The organisation have handed out nearly £25m over four years to numerous British no-hopers who are taking part in Pyeongchang.